Day Nineteen- Camille Bombois- Circus Strongman and Artist

Post navigation

It’s Day NINETEEN and tomorrow will be Day TWENTY! I feel like I just started this project a

Clown a La Pipe- Camille Bombois

couple days ago and then when I go down into my art space I see all the paintings I’ve done hanging on whatever free space I have and realize how much work I’ve done so far. I smile of course. 🙂 Today I celebrate French Naive painter, Camille Bombois and what better way to honor a painter noted for his circus paintings than to paint a clown?

Bombois was born in Venarey-les-Laumes in the Côte-d’Or, under humble circumstances. His childhood was spent living on a barge and attending a local school until the age of twelve, when he became a farm worker. During his free time he drew and competed in wrestling competitions at local fairs. He became a champion local wrestler before joining a traveling circus as a strongman and wrestler.

In 1907, Bombois fulfilled his dream of moving to Paris, where he married and worked as a railway laborer, eventually finding a night job at a newspaper printing plant handling heavy newsprint rolls. Despite the exhausting nature of his job he painted from dawn to dusk, sleeping little. He showed his paintings in sidewalk exhibitions, but his earliest paintings, revealing the influence of the old masters in their subdued use of color, attracted few buyers.

1914 marked the beginning of four-and-a-half years of military service in

Danosens tack- Camille Bombois

World War I. Bombois spent much of it on the front line, earning three decorations for bravery. Upon his return home, encouraged that his wife had succeeded in selling a number of his paintings in his absence, he resumed his routine of night labor and daytime painting. By 1922, his sidewalk displays in Montmartre had begun attracting the attention of collectors, as well as art dealer Wilhelm Uhde, who “discovered” him. His first exhibition was the 1937 “Maîtres populaires de la réalité”, Paris. Critics compared Bombois’ work to that of Henri Rousseau, which it resembled in its naïve drawing, crisp delineation of form, and attention to detail, although Bombois was less of a fantasist than Rousseau.

The paintings of his maturity are bold in color, featuring strong contrasts of black, bright reds, blues and electric pinks. Drawing from his own experiences, he often painted circus performers and landscapes with fishermen. His paintings of women are emphatic in their carnality, and his landscapes are notable in their careful attention to space, and to the effects of reflected light on water. Bombois’ works are on view in many public collections, notably the Musée Maillol in Paris.

I had so much fun researching this artist. First of all, he just seemed like a lovely man! The fact

Painting in the background…

that he joined a traveling circus was something that intrigued me as well. Just think of all the fun and interesting things you could paint having the opportunity to do that! At first, I was immediately drawn to painting a strongman…because it would be neat, but also it seemed the least intimidating to paint. I also really liked the playful style of his nudes. That’s when I saw his clown paintings and I couldn’t resist. I then went on my own internet adventure of looking up vintage clown photos from the era he painted in. What fun that was! I have a strong feeling that this isn’t the last (actually it’s not even the first!) clown painting I’m going to engage in this year. Maybe I’ll just paint a clown every day in the style of the artist next year! Well…maybe not. I hope you enjoy my clowny clown clown. I just adore him!

See you tomorrow on Day 20!

xoxo, Linda

The point where I realized that it was going to be a day of subtle black & white shading.Le Clown Heureux-Tribute to Camille BomboisLinda Cleary 2014Acrylic on Canvas(Side-View)Le Clown Heureux-Tribute to Camille BomboisLinda Cleary 2014Acrylic on Canvas(Close-Up)Le Clown Heureux-Tribute to Camille BomboisLinda Cleary 2014Acrylic on Canvas